Rory McIlroy crumpled to the ground on the 18th green at Augusta National and let it all out — 14 years of emotion and pain came flooding out. The green jacket and the career Grand Slam were finally his. But McIlroy later admitted he was unprepared for the come down after achieving something he’d spent his entire life chasing.
“Look, you dream about the final putt going in at the Masters, but you don’t think about what comes next,” McIlroy said prior to the 2025 U.S. Open at Oakmont. “I think I’ve always been a player that struggles to play after a big event, after I win whatever tournament. I always struggle to show up with motivation the next week because you’ve just accomplished something, and you want to enjoy it, and you want to sort of relish the fact that you’ve achieved a goal. I think chasing a certain goal for the better part of a decade and a half, I think I’m allowed a little bit of time to relax a little bit.
“I think it’s trying to have a little bit of amnesia and forget about what happened six weeks ago,” McIlroy said that same day. “Then just trying to find the motivation to go back out there and work as hard as I’ve been working. I worked incredibly hard on my game from October last year all the way up until April this year. It was nice to sort of see the fruits of my labor come to fruition and have everything happen. But at the same time, you have to enjoy that. You have to enjoy what you’ve just accomplished. I certainly feel like I’m still doing that and I will continue to do that.”
That post-Masters malaise was understandable. Post-success melancholy is natural for any human. Human beings, especially elite athletes, aren’t wired to find fulfillment in one accomplishment. The feeling is fleeting; all that’s left is a void and a search for the next target. Human beings are, by nature, constant searchers and wonderers, always lusting after the next thing. Achieving a lifetime goal often brings the existential question about finding true fulfillment if there is always something else to chase. David Duval found that out after his 2001 Open Championship win. Kevin Durant didn’t find what he thought he would after winning an NBA championship with the Golden State Warriors. After Lydia Ko won the Olympic gold medal last summer to get into the LPGA Hall of Fame, she faced a similar malaise.
“I think I thought my life or maybe the way I thought about myself would change when I got in the Hall of Fame and did a lot of the things I wanted to do before it actually happened, and I’m sure Rory is thinking the same in similar parts, where everybody was like, oh, the Masters is the one he was missing. Like what if? And then he did it,” Ko said ahead of the 2025 KPMG Women’s PGA Championship. “And as much as I’m sure he’s so happy and relieved, he’s just as good the day before, like before he won it.
“I think that’s what I kind of came to peace with. I think sometimes when it’s right there in front of you and see all these statistics, you feel like you should do more. I think that some of the things we’ve already gotten, we take for granted. I think that’s what I realized most, and that’s what made me realize I’ve still got to go out there and practice and put in the time to play well the week after.”
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McIlroy’s post-Masters play was, for the most part, flat. But he found a new “Everest” while trying to win the Open Championship in front of his home crowd at Royal Portrush in Northern Ireland. He came up short, finishing in a tie for seventh, but filled his soul while giving the Portrush crowd hope with a weekend charge.
“I’ve gotten everything I wanted out of this week apart from a Claret Jug,” he said after finishing his final round.
McIlroy’s search for motivation, for his next mountain, will be ongoing, ever-changing. While the Masters was a fixed target, the next stage of his professional career will be capturing a shooting star. The Open isn’t slated to return to Royal Portrush at the moment, although that could change at some point. McIlroy noted his goals now include winning big tournaments at iconic venues, namely the U.S. Open at Pebble Beach and the Open at St. Andrews, and he already told us what north stars he plans to chase as his hair continues to gray.
“Winning the Masters, winning an Olympic medal and another away Ryder Cup, they are my three goals for the rest of my career,” McIlroy told BBC Sport in January.
He checked the biggest box in April when he battled and defeated his demons to finally become a champion at Augusta National. After months of waffling between enjoying a dream achieved and searching for something to chase, something to reach for, McIlroy once again has a clear target with the 2025 Ryder Cup at Bethpage Black now just three weeks away.
“When I look at my career and my whole picture as a golfer, I basically, I’ve done everything I wanted to,” McIlroy said Wednesday ahead of the Irish Open at The K Club. “I guess everything after that, it’s a bonus, but you have to reassess your goals. The one thing for me this year to reassess my goals, an away Ryder Cup, after everything that’s happened this year, would be — I would look back on 2025, and there’s no way that I would — if I did have a better year in the game, I’d love to see it. But if we were to win an away Ryder Cup with everything else that I’ve been through this year, 2025 would be the best year of my career.”
After Europe’s win in Rome at the 2023 Ryder Cup, McIlroy promised that Europe would defeat the Americans at Bethpage and become the first team since the 2012 Europeans to win an away Ryder Cup. American captain Keegan Bradley said he has shown that clip to several members of his team. They are aware of McIlroy’s comments from two years ago, but the newly minted Grand Slam champion still feels bullish on Europe’s chances on Long Island.
“Honestly, since The Open passed, it’s the one thing I’ve really been looking towards and making sure my game is in the best possible shape,” McIlroy said of the Ryder Cup. “I think we have a wonderful opportunity to do something — honestly, one of the greatest achievements in the game right now is to win an away Ryder Cup, and I think this European team has a great opportunity to do that.
“I’m excited for the opportunity. I’m also excited for the challenge too,” McIlroy said. “We know it’s going to be a very challenging environment to play in, but that’s what we want. The best players want to challenge themselves, and that’s what it’s going to be.”
Rory McIlroy was searching for motivation. He found something he’d been missing at the Open, and now, another one of his career goals — a shooting star — is about to come into view.
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